Inside the Harem
by drawingwind
Summary: Naruto, a homeless boy stuck in an unfair world, gets entangled with a noble family known for its harem. What will Naruto do in order to keep his dignity, his pride, and his sanity? SasuNaru Later Lemons
1. Prologue

Hello everyone. This is my first NaruxSasu fic, so I hope you all like it. This first chapter is just a prologue, so it'll get better I promise! Please review to let me know what you think and I will give you all cookies and dedicate the next chapter to you! YAY!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... yada yada, you've all heard it/wrote it.

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The blonde boy darted into a deserted alleyway, trying to shake off his pursuers. In his hurry, he slipped on the slick cobble stoned street, and he landed on the unforgiving ground with a dull thud. The wind was stolen from his lungs and made a hiss of air escape his lips.

The shouts of men were fast approaching which made the boy scramble back upon his feet to dive further into the darkness and out of sight. He crawled underneath a wooden crate and waited. Trying desperately to hold his breath, he became afraid they might hear his panting and gasps for air. His mind was wrapped in terror which made his sweat covered body tremble and his mouth run dry. The voices came to a crescendo and then died down after a few minutes.

The blonde did not know how long he stayed underneath the crate, but when he reemerged the sun had already set and the bustle of city life had died down exponentially. Different shop's paper lamps were beginning to be lit so that late night customers would be welcome. The boy sat at the edge of where the alley ended and the street began, watching an occasional bicycle or miniature carriage pulled by a young man roll past.

He crouched down low, trying to conceal his head of hair beneath the collar of his shirt so as not to attract attention. Women clad in bright hues with obi's around their wastes were led by men in business suits and cigarettes dangling from their fingers. The smell of chicken cooking at a nearby food stand wafted across the usual fetid atmosphere of the streets. The blonde inhaled the scent, trying in vain to gain some sort of sustenance from it but only made his stomach growl louder in protest.

He clutched his abdomen trying to comfort its wailing but to no avail. Knowing he would have to resort to what he hated most, he lowered his head in shame. Only eighteen-year-olds were given jobs around here, and being sixteen disqualified him from the possibility. There was also the option of street performing or begging, but his mess of blonde hair could turn stranger's attentions to a much less needed pursuit.

He could not count how many times he had been chased, beaten, mugged, ridiculed, and even molested because of his blonde locks. When he was still a toddler, he could faintly remember a faint memory of a family that cared for him and cherished him. He remembered it was a safe place where he was free to laugh and play and be affectionate.

The boy chuckled darkly and looked around himself. There were dead rats strewn about, the smell of urine in the air, and he noticed he might be sitting on some broken glass as he shifted his rump to sit at a more comfortable angle. He was not a toddler anymore, he was not in his fuzzy memories, and he did not have the comfort of safety.

It is funny how simple that word may seem, safety, and how much people may take it for granted. To live in fear of your life, every single day, is hell. To sleep only ten or fifteen minutes at a time, afraid that some crook or pervert could sneak up behind you and have his way with you, is hell. And this boy's life, equivalent to the previous examples, _was _hell.

After one more gut wrenching hunger pain tore itself through his stomach, the boy pulled himself off of the damp ground and made his way down the street, eyes on the lookout for an unsuspecting person who could most likely be able to spare a few pennies.

A man with shoulders slumped and a thin long face passed by. He looked sickly and his mousy brown hair stuck in tufts to his forehead and temples as he chewed on a precariously long toothpick. _Pass_, thought the boy.

The next person he saw was a woman with milky white powder adorning her angular face being escorted by an overzealous man with long gray hair that almost reached his knees. The boy registered the fact that the old man kept trying to grab the woman's posterior as they conversed and he suppressed a shudder. The old pervert was laughing boisterously as he fawned over the woman, and the boy saw his red tear-track tattoos crinkle with the effort. As he began to pass, the distinct jingle of change rattled from the man's pockets. The boys ears pricked in response. He gently made a U-turn to start, unsuspectingly, following the old geezer-of-a-pervert. Deciding the best way to approach the man would be to "accidentally" hit him as he passed, the boy went in for the kill. Picking up his pace he acted like he was in a rush to get somewhere, by nervously twitching his hands around and panting on cue.

There was about two more feet to go before he could make payday. He upped his speed and pretended to stumble, making his chest press into the old pervert's arm. Just as he had made contact he said "Excuse me," and retrieved the coin purse tucked away in the pervert's pocket. He continued his hurried pace up a ways farther and then down an adjoining street. He slowed down once he knew no one was after him. The purse now hid beneath his armpit, a perfect hiding place in that it produced no bulge to give it away. Sitting at a deserted porch, away from the light of any lamps, the boy retrieved the purse from underneath his arm and unhooked its clasp. Altogether the change was about enough for a few meals.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are _a genius_," he exclaimed to himself. Grinning triumphantly he shut the purse and tossed it in the air in order to catch it, but he then realized the purse never came back into contact with the palm of his hand.

"Yes. You sure are," came a sly voice behind him. Before he could turn around to see the bastard, a blistering pain erupted in his skull and everything went dark.

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I'm sorry if my grammar is horrible, but this is unbetaed (so bear with it a little pleasey weasey)! Please R&R.


	2. Sweet Revenge

Hello friends! I hope you all liked the first chapter. I am a bit disappointed by the lack of reviews. Out of the 196 people, who have read the first chapter of Inside the Harem, so far only 2 people reviewed. I'm hoping to get a better turn out this time around.

I dedicate this chapter to FMA-lover16 and 5DOOD! Thank you, you two soooo very much for reviewing! It means quite a lot! Cookies for you!! Yay.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Warning: Naruto is kind of a potty mouth. He is a city street kid, you know. You are forewarned.

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Noises faded in and out of Naruto's fast awakening consciousness. Light began forming before his eyes, and stripped away the darkness. Images were blurry at first, but he soon regained his sight and found several men looming around him. They didn't seem to be paying much attention to the blonde, since they were facing each other with malicious expressions.

"I was the one who found him! That should give me rights," said one man, his voice familiar. He had jet black hair; most of it was tied behind him, but his shorter bangs framed the sides of his face. There was a long line underneath each of his eyes, which made him look naturally tired. His stance seemed calm, but the twitching muscles in his forearms and thighs gave away his frustration. The air around him seemed menacing alone but to be faced by his anger, Naruto could only imagine how the raven would unleash his fury.

He looked over to the other man pityingly. This second guy had a greenish pale face with greasy hair slicked over his shoulders. He held a sadistic look in his eyes that were a golden color, but it wasn't the color that was peculiar. It was the man's pupils; they were elongated and pointed at the tips, much like a snake's. His hands were made into claws that looked like they wanted to rip the shit out of the raven. _Maybe I should be pitying the raven instead_, thought Naruto. "But you work for me, so wouldn't it make sense for you to just _hand him over_?" Came the snake-man's voice. It was raspy and yet it held a deep rumble like an avalanche of rocks. His S's were drawn out, like the way a snake might hiss.

Naruto gave an involuntary shudder as the sound drifted towards his ears, which consequently made his clothes rustle noisily against the wooden surface he was laying on. Both men's heads snapped towards the boy who was now paralyzed with fright. Naruto dug his fingernails into the wooden surface, creating deep half-moon marks in the table. His eyes widened when he noticed the men were advancing on him.

They stepped up closer and closer until they were towering over his body. The snake-man leaned his head in close enough that Naruto's nose was touching his. Naruto let out an "eek" and quickly moved his head to the side, so now the nose was against his ear. Naruto began to shake when a disgustingly long tongue prodded against the hole in his ear.

"Bastard!" Came the other man's voice and the snake-guy was violently pushed off of him. The raven's face was then in front of his, but it was a nicer face to look at than the other son-of-a-bitch's. A pale hand cupped his cheek. Naruto desperately wished his touch would be warm to take the chill away from his bones, but he was disappointed to find it as cold as ice. Flinching at the touch, Naruto shied away from the stranger's hand, which made the raven frown.

Naruto suddenly realized he wasn't even fighting back. His arms and legs weren't bound, so he could take these guys on. His eyes opened in a defiant look and lashed out with his arm, pushing the raven away from him. When he was far enough away he flung out his leg and violently kicked the raven in the chest. He didn't know where the other one was, at the moment, so he set his mind against the raven wholeheartedly.

The raven didn't seem to be affected by his attacks at all. He stood with his hands in his pockets, observing Naruto as if he were slightly amusing to watch. Naruto's anger boiled over and his hands clenched into tight fists, his teeth gnashed together.

"What the FUCK is going on? Where the hell am I? And who the fuck are you, bastard?" Naruto said in a low voice, trying to keep a level head and push down the anger welling inside of him. The man just chuckled and shrugged. Naruto growled in frustration and lunged at the tall man before him. The guy's eyes flashed red, and then suddenly he had stepped to the side, effectively avoiding Naruto's attack. He kept sidestepping every punch Naruto threw at him, and with every miss Naruto became even more enraged. Suddenly he felt his legs buckle as someone behind him kicked his legs from underneath him.

"Shit!" Naruto screamed as his knees impacted with the ground harshly, and a loud crack resounded through the warehouse-looking building. Naruto fell to the floor and gingerly fingered his knee to be met with a shooting pain that went up his leg and back. He screamed again in agony.

"Look what you did, Orochimaru. Now he's damaged goods. You're such a damn klutz," came the raven's voice. Naruto was trying to remain conscious, but the pain was trying to make his body black out.

"Watch what you say, Itachi. If not for me, you would still be at the mercy of that brother of yours," came the snake-guy's, now identified as Orochimaru's voice. Naruto assumed Itachi, the raven, had heeded to Orochimaru's warning because he no longer criticized his employer's motives. Itachi leaned down and picked up Naruto's shaking body. As Naruto felt the man's hands, his whole body tensed up. Itachi had his arm underneath Naruto's knees, making the broken knee-cap protest dangerously. Naruto bit back another scream. He must have bit too hard, because he felt blood run down his chin. Itachi silently acknowledged the freshly cut skin, but did nothing to help.

Naruto was removed from the warehouse-like room and led down several dark corridors. He found that his vision was becoming blurry, but he tried to resist giving in to his weariness. His head kept bobbing down, but he willed himself to keep conscious.

Itachi opened the door to a spare bedroom and when he looked down to the boy in his arms, found that he was fast asleep. Itachi would never show it to anyone, but since no one was around... he gave a fraction of a smile as he tucked in the blonde into a shabby rundown bed. The blonde may have been cute, but it wasn't enough for Itachi to care about his injuries. _Let him take care of his own goddamn self,_ Itachi thought as he walked back to where Orochimaru awaited.

Itachi entered into Orochimaru's office, and was not surprised to find a young man at his side. His glasses glinted in the candle light and blocked all hopes of understanding his facial expression. Itachi closed the door, put his hands into his pockets, and stepped forward towards the desk. Orochimaru was pressing his fingertips together while a sly smile adorned his drawn face.

"Itachi, why did you bring that brat here? I do not deny he is one delicious looking boy, but I thought we had agreed we had enough boys on the job, at the moment?" Orochimaru paused to observe Itachi's face. "We don't need him, he'll just be a nuisance around here. With his boisterous attitude, he may stir rebelliousness within the other boys we've already broken. You wouldn't want to waste all our hard work, now would you?"

Itachi remained indifferent and stoic. His body did not shift an inch, and his face revealed nothing, "I saw him pick-pocketing in the streets. He knew exactly what he was doing, and from my expertise I can say his ploy was flawless. Doing the stealing is only half the knowledge needed, you know. You have to have the know-how about _who _to pick-pocket from also. You know that as well as I do. I saw him calculating his prospects, and on his first try he nabbed the perfect victim. And you'll never guess who it was."

Itachi paused trying to stir frustration in his employer. Orochimaru didn't take the bait, so Itachi continued anyways, "It was Jiraiya-san." Orochimaru's eyes opened wide in surprise. Jiraiya was well known to their little enterprise. He has never been able to be pick-pocketed from. Not even Itachi could nail that guy's wallet.

Orochimaru's eyes were unbelieving. It could not be true. He studied Itachi's face for any sign of dishonesty. But why would Itachi lie about that? He could not gain anything from it. Orochimaru knew Itachi never lied; he had always been straightforward and blunt, since they had first met almost ten years ago.

(_flashback_)

_Orochimaru had been prowling alleyways trying to corner any stray boys he could find, and begin his plan. For years he wanted to get the revenge he deserved from being ousted from Konoha's board of councilors. He wanted to become Konoha's leading crime lord, and then one day take over as supreme leader, but so far he had failed miserably. The drug dealing ended in a shambles after his dealers ran out on him, sensing his unpredictability. They refused to work under someone they could not trust (understandable, but Orochimaru still vowed to kill them the first chance he got). _

_Trying to get a gang/mafia together had failed also. Since he had no personal relationships or family, the whole I will fight for you till the end kind of thing didn't really work. So the members dwindled away one by one until he was alone once more. _

_Orochimaru punched the wall beside him in anger. All those attempts had been for nothing, but now... He had a plan. Since he could not control the actions of adults, he would control younger generations of men. He would rule over the sons of those he had once tried to conquer, and in that way he could succeed. _

_It was his first night searching for youngsters, and he had had no luck so far. He turned into yet another alley and found a crumpled mass laying on the ground trembling. Orochimaru didn't really care at all, but he decided to take a look on the off chance it was a kid that he could use. _

_He came closer and knelt next to the body. He found it was a young man, probably eighteen or so, reduced to a bloody pulp. His face was swollen and purple, blood ran from the corner of his mouth. It didn't even seem like he knew that Orochimaru was there next to him. _

This guy's too old for what I need_, he thought and was about to leave when the eyes focused upon Orochimaru. _

_"Pl- please, help me. I'll do an- anything. They all... they all FUCKING kicked me out. I'm not- I'm not," and then the man broke down and started to cry. His eyes were screwed up in physical and mental pain. "I'm not an Uchiha anymore. DAMMIT!" he yelled. _

_Orochimaru's eyes widened in disbelief. This guy had been an Uchiha? The noble family who practically ran the entire city? Maybe he could use this guy after all. He may not be a part of the Uchiha family anymore, but this guy was as good a connection as anybody. The boy looked defeated, tears running from the corners of his eyes and over his bruised temples. Snot was beginning to pool in his nostrils, and that too began to run over his face. Orochimaru grimaced at the sight. _

_"You want to come with me?" Orochimaru asked. Now the guy looked uncertain. His swollen forehead furrowed as much as it could. "Your family kicked you out, huh? Well it seems like their just a bunch of asses then, ne?" Orochimaru saw that the guy was warming up to him again. He went in for the kill, "I can help you get revenge... on your family." _

_(end flashback)_

"Alright. He can stay." Orochimaru said and dismissed Itachi by waving his hand at him, telling him to leave. Itachi left the room and waltzed towards the kitchen.

"Damn, I'm starved."

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Please REVIEW!!! We fanfiction writers don't get paid, you know. So instead of paying us cash the least you could do is review. It gets the creative, writing, fanfictiony juices flowing! I will love you eternally if you review!

See you Space Ninja...


	3. The Hoard

HELLOOOOOOOO Everybody!! No excuse for my absence. Hope you'll still read. Please Be Patient. Thats all I gotta say. Thanks...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: Rated M for language, sexual content (in the future lemons), and violence. This fanfic will have eventual BoyxonxBoy love in it, so if you're strictly into hetero-lit, then this is NOT the place for you! You have been forewarned! This is un-betaed to let you know, and my grammar is in imperfect!

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A feeling of awareness spread through Naruto's mind; first his hearing came to him. The sound of dripping water met his ears; each drip weighed like a ton of bricks being relinquished upon his skull. He then began to regain feeling in his body and a sharp pain ran up his thigh and shot up his spine.

"Ah! FUCK!" he screeched. Voices stirred from somewhere, but he still couldn't see anything as he slowly became more conscious. Clutching against whatever surface was beneath him, Naruto tried to raise himself up into a sitting position, but was met with more pain. He gave up the pursuit and let his body adjust to where it was. Blinking a few times, images began to form before his blackened sight. A moldy ceiling greeted his eyes, so he shut them again, hoping the situation he was in wasn't any worse than being destitute and on the streets.

A voice, muffled but yet oddly clear, began shouting as if telling other people its observation, "He's awake! Yo, I said he's AWAKE you fuck-head!" There was some scrambling of feet and a smaller voice began speaking which Naruto could not understand. The louder one responded, "What do you mean '_What should I dooo?_' Go get the fuckin' key, you dimwit!" Suddenly, there was a flurry of feet going off in the distance.

Naruto tried sitting up again, but the strain kept resounding in his knee. His knee? What had he done to his kne-

_Oh fuck, _Naruto thought, _that snake dude broke my knee-cap after the raven guy- what was his name? Itatski?- kidnapped me. Great._

The sound of running feet reached his ears again, and stopped somewhere outside of his room, he guessed. This was a room wasn't it? A clicking noise indicated the key turning in its lock, and sudden light spilled into the room. Naruto shielded his eyes from the blinding light, and tried to crawl away from the approaching strangers.

"Maybe we should close the door. The light seems to be bother-"

"Would you just _shut up,_ Gaara? Geez! Fucking gettin' on my nerves!" Pause. Silence. "Hey you! Blondie. Get up, man, unless you want the masters noticin' you slackin'." There was no response from Naruto. _Masters? Slacking? What the hell?_

A pair of hands roughly grabbed Naruto by the collar and shook him, "They'll fuckin' slit your throat if you don't _get up_ _now_, kid!" Naruto's eyes widened and his body shook in fear. What was going on?

"Stop scaring him, Kiba-kun!" came the hesitant one's voice. Naruto couldn't see the other when this so-called Kiba was in his face. The boy gripping him had a feral look, almost as if there was a thin layer of insanity beneath the surface. His canines were sharper than was normal, and his hair was a mane of tousled brunette knots. There were upside-down red triangles upon his cheeks, giving his overall look a very primal and tribal air.

"I thought I told you to shut your trap, Gaara?" Kiba said and released Naruto. A red adorned head popped out from behind Kiba, and looked pleadingly up at him. This boy, called Gaara, tugged on Kiba's arm lightly to make him stop antagonizing the newcomer.

"Please, Kiba-kun?" Gaara's eyes were welling up with unshed tears. They were a bright crystal green color, that held much intelligence but were glazed over with worry and sorrow, and his hair was fiery and cropped short to his head. Cutting it so short made his head look almost too big for the tiny boy's body. He must have been several years younger than Kiba, since Gaara's head only reached to about Kiba's waist.

Sighing, Kiba reluctantly acquiesced and turned back towards Naruto. "So… Do you know where you are?"

Naruto shook his head dumbly, not sure if he could trust his voice to come out strong. Kiba pursed his lips and then leaned against the opposite wall with his hands hidden in his pockets.

Gaara seemed to have calmed down when Kiba took a more casual stance against the stones, and he came closer to Naruto's cot. Giving a hopeful smile up at Naruto, he clutched at the fabric covering the blonde's good knee as if it were a lifeline.

"Do you even know why you were brought here, kid?" _Kid? Did this guy just call me a kid?_ Anger welled in his gut as he tried to keep a civil face.

"No," his voice came out raspy. He cleared it and repeated a bit more firmly, "No, I don't."

Sighing, this Kiba dude rubbed his left temple in annoyance, "This is a house for pick-pockets, man. One of the masters obviously found ya' and you caught their eye and brought you here to use ya' like the rest of us. During the day we gotta clean the warehouse, but at night we're sent out to pilfer as much loot as we can. You get it now?"

Nodding a bit weakly, he tried to shift himself to get off that brick-of-a-cot, but sharp pains shot up his leg and stilled his attempts. Hissing through his teeth, he clenched his leg muscles in order to take the pain and swung his legs over the side. He felt the sensation of bone grating against bone, and white stars began to erupt in front of his eyes.

He hadn't noticed he was swaying dangerously until he felt someone's hand against his shoulder, balancing him. Looking up, with clouded eyes, he saw Gaara's face looking worriedly up into his face.

The red head began saying something, but Naruto caught it all in snatches, "think… needs… doc-" And then he saw blackness once again.

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When he came around again he was in the same room, but something felt different. He wiggled himself a bit and found that his leg still permeated pain through his leg, but was a dull ache compared to the searing it had done before.

He got up slowly and this time saw he could keep conscious. Leaning on the cot's edge, he gingerly picked himself up and stood. The door was slightly ajar to his room (if you could call it a room) and light was filtering into the darkness surrounding him. Jumping on his one good leg, he brought himself to the door and peeked through the slit its opening had made. It seemed like a hallway because the opposite wall wasn't very far away and also had a door, which meant it was probably another room. The walls were made of stone and had lanterns, lit by candles, hanging from the low ceiling.

The blonde paused to listen for any sounds, but was given only silence in response, so he hooked a finger lightly around the edge and slid the door open a bit more. He waited again to see if there would be any reaction, and when none came Naruto opened the door completely. It gave a slight squeak because of the age of the wood, which made Naruto's heart beat race. He knew he was welcome here, since they brought him here to pickpocket, but he still didn't know their temperament. _Well_, he thought,_ I already know Snake-dude's temperament. Gave me a fuckin' broken knee, that piss-ant. _

Anger stewed in Naruto's belly for a moment before he took a deep breath and let it go- for now. Placing a hand against the cold wall he limped down it to see what he could find. The further he went along, a noise seemed to come from somewhere. Momentary surprise left him and he began his tread more determinedly, albeit still painfully. He finally reached the end of the hallway where a doorway led to a wrought-iron staircase that spiraled down into what looked like a cafeteria. There were children everywhere, literally. Kids were not only sitting on the shabby stools and upside down trash cans (that served as chairs), but they were sitting on the tables themselves, laying along the floor tossing second-hand jacks, and one was even swaying on the overhead lamp. Food, though, was all in its rightful place- on plates, in mouths, and then in bellies.

Being so engrossed in the sight of all the kids, the blonde didn't even realize that the head honchos were there themselves eating at a separate table, until he heard a loud voice cut through the din.

"Well well well," Naruto snapped his head in the direction of the booming voice which echoed in the vast room, "I see sleeping beauty is finally awake!" The demon-of-a-snake-dude sneered up from his seat, and the room erupted in laughter at their master's joke.

Naruto's lips made themselves into a fine line of distaste, _Why can't I ever catch a break?_ The children were still laughing when a second booming sound silenced even the children's chewing. That's when the blonde noticed the other guy who had tried to protect him against Orochimaru earlier. The long-haired raven had taken a riding crop to the table top and although the sound was not all that loud, it had caused such a powerful reaction. Naruto was starting to wonder whether or not he liked this guy anymore- he had _seemed_ nice before.

The raven gracefully sat down again, without saying a word, and the children went about their business again, though a bit more timidly. Orochimaru beckoned Naruto down with his hand, and when he saw the blonde begin to descend slowly with his hurt leg, the snake leaned over and whispered to Itachi, "I'll bet a dollar he falls while tryin' to come down those stairs."

"Done." The raven supplied, without looking at his superior, and crossed his arms.

Naruto swayed on his feet halfway down the steps, and grit his teeth against the pain. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the iron firmly in his hand, until his knuckles turned white, so that he would not teeter off. Once he regained his balance again, Naruto descended once again. When he planted his feet on the ground, Orochimaru hissed, "Shit," and threw a crumpled one dollar bill at Itachi, who in turn gave the faintest of smiles. The grin was gone as soon as it had come, and when the blonde reached their table, the raven's face was a stony mask once again.

"Walking again, I see eh, Goldie Locks?" Orochimaru grinned toothily. "Come closer would you, so I can get a good look at you." Naruto did as he was told, knowing he was in no position to get into another fight- he would _definitely _lose with this leg of his. He let the lecherous eyes roam over him, with a grimace plastered across his features, all the while noticing that Itachi was also looking at him with an intense stare.

"Well looks like right now I can't make any money with you, so you'll be shown around by Itachi. You should be careful around him though, he's one sick fuck." At this the snake-like man leered at Itachi and grinned sadistically, but gained no reaction from the raven who was still looking at Naruto. The blonde fidgeted under the gaze, though he tried as hard as he could not to. There was a faint rushing of his blood to his cheeks at the knowledge that the raven was getting to him, and he cursed himself for it.

Itachi noticed the blush and it gave him a queer sensation which he had not felt in some time. He finally looked away to drink from his cup, relieving Naruto of his embarrassment. After draining it contents, the raven got up to leave saying, "Let's go."

At first Naruto didn't know who Itachi was talking to, and when snake-dude didn't move, Naruto jumped a little and started to shuffle behind the raven.

"I'll show you around 'The Hoard'. Don't stray, you'll get lost." Itachi never looked back at him as they made their way through another door out of the cafeteria. The whole look of the interior suddenly changed. The walls had homey wallpaper and the floor was made of nice parquet wood.

"What's '_The Hoard'_?" The blonde asked as he struggle to catch up to the raven with as little pain as possible.

"It's what we call our hideout. Since we pilfer, we hoard the goods to gain money later. So we call where we bring everything back to, our 'hoard' as it were." Naruto was surprised to find the raven so willing to talk with him, since he gave off such an icy facade.

"So... uh... why did the building change so much just now?" Naruto asked, knowing he was probably going to be annoying soon, but oh well.

"You noticed, huh? Figures you'd be sharp since you're such a natural at pick-pocketing," Itachi's words were colloquial but his tone was far from it. He sounded almost like what Naruto would think a pile of stones might sound like if they had a voice. The raven continued on, still looking ahead down the never-ending hallway they were in, "'The Hoard' is spread out into five separate buildings that are all connected through passageways, like this one, and they are all in different states of array. The one we were just in used to be an Insane Asylum, and the one we're headed into used to be a girl's preparatory school. Naturally, the... _decor _is a little different from one another," Did Naruto hear a little bit of sarcasm there? Maybe he was hearing things, Itachi couldn't say something like that. This man that was walking rigidly, yet gracefully, with a long black leather coat that swished against his calves, and a riding crop dangling from his pale fingers could never joke like that, could he?

"Any other questions?" The raven dryly stated.

Naruto shook his head, but remembered that Itachi was not looking at him so he replied, "Not right now, no."

Itachi gave a small smile then, and it vanished without anyone knowing it was ever there. _The story of my life, _Itachi thought and then rounded the next corner.

"Why're you smilin'?" The blonde's obnoxious voice suddenly asked, which made Itachi stop walking in surprise and consequently made the boy run into his back. The raven turned around to look at the boy straight in the face. The boy couldn't have known he had smiled from where he had been. The blonde had been directly behind him and he had had his face straight ahead. His hair was even down which would shield his neck, ears, and jaw from the boy behind him.

Itachi did not acknowledge the fact that the boy had been right, and instead wanted to ask the blonde something instead, "What was your name again?"

Innocently wise for his age, Naruto grinned making his eyes go shut and proudly stated, "Uzumaki Naruto at yer service!"

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Thanks to whoever read, and reviews would be nice of you...

~drawingwind


	4. THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!

**THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!!!! (sorry)**

**I wanted to let all my readers know about an unfortunate occurence- All my old stories will, until further notice, be put on hiatus.**

**WHY? you might ask- because my two laptops have both crashed **(all because of stupid and its viruses! TIP: AVOID MANGAFOX!) **and all my new chapters are pretty much gone. Until I can figure out if I can retrieve them or not, my old posts will be postponed. **

**Don't worry though, I have EVERY intention of finishing them all. Several of them are almost to the end anyways (like I'll Dance For You and Taking It Easy). **

**So I hope you all aren't too angry and that I'll still have readers by the time I fix the issue ^o^**

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**On a different note, I am starting a new story (NARUSASUNARU of course!) and you all can look for all that yummy goodyness very soon!. It will be called (as far as I know) The Prince and The Prisoner.****Until then my friends... Adieu**

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**~drawingwind**


	5. Author's Note Poll

**Author's Note**

I am still alive my readers, even though it may seem I have been wiped off the map. I have come to a conclusion that I will not be finishing all of my fics. Of the stories I will finish for sure are:

Taking It Easy

and

I'll Dance For You

I will finish these two stories because they are near their ends. But for the rest of the fics, it will be up to my readers to choose two of the remaining stories they would like me to finish. I will pick from the stories who got the most votes and then send a new note with the results. So, once you've recieved this note, please go to place a REVIEW and list your two favorites from this list of stories:

**1. Inside the Harem**- Naruto, a homeless boy stuck in an unfair world, gets entangled with a noble family known for its harem. What will Naruto do in order to keep his dignity, his pride, and his sanity? SasuNaru Later Lemons

**2. Light My Fire**- Naruto is a fireman who goes into save a boy still trapped in a burning building, but what he doesn't know is that he is about to save the hot Sasuke Uchiha. And boy does the Uchiha take a liking to our favorite blonde! NaruSasuNaru LaterLemons Rated M

3**. My Past to Your Future**- It is the year 1954, and Uchiha Sasuke is the jock with the perfect life. It is also the year 2008, and Uzumaki Naruto is the punk with the broken life. When past and present meet, Sasuke finds his life wasn't so perfect and Naruto's is starting to heal

**4. The Prince and the Prisoner**- Sasuke is the duke's brother, and nothing could go wrong in his boring and predictable life... that is, until a convicted murderer decides to shake things up a bit! NaruxSasuxNaru LaterLemons

Thanks,  
drawingwind


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